Very commonly, there is a significant delay between the onset of myocardial infarction and treatment. After acute myocardial thrombosis (i.e., acute myocardial infarction), the myocardial tissue initially becomes ischemic (i.e., a mismatch between oxygen supply and oxygen demand) and subsequently becomes necrotic (i.e., cell death). As myocardial tissue undergoes necrosis after approximately 20 to 30 minutes, early treatment and early revascularization is critical in order to salvage myocardium and prevent progressive cell death.